Key Points of Interest that I Found Significant
Posted: September 12th, 2010, 7:37 pm
Key Points of Interest: Detective Conan Theories
1) Bourbon was referenced early in the series, connected to the names Gin and Vodka, during the Mantendo company case. The idea of a mystery character was played with early on as well with the introduction of the Night Baron. The Night Baron plays a major but overlooked role in the plot as not only is Night Baron the name of the computer virus used by the Black Organization, it is connected by the Japanese pronunciation of Baron with the Japanese pronunciation of Bourbon. Yusaku being the creator of the Night Baron character is similar to him being the one to ‘name’ Kaito Kid (reading 1412 as Kid).
2) Kuro as the first part of a name was used by Vodka when he called Hirota in an attempt to retrieve the floppy disk (Kuro---Insurance Company). Kuro also means black in Japanese and sounds like Crow to English speaking ears. It is likely the Organization’s name or Boss’s name begins with Kuro.
EDIT: On second thought, a cautious boss wouldn’t allow his name or the name of the Org to be used in case the tape could’ve be recovered. Thus the name used on the answering machine is probably a red herring to lead any nosey person astray.
3) 4869 decoded into Kuroyashi which further decodes to Kurayoshi which is in Tottori; however as there is already a Robbery Syndicate being investigated by the police located in Tottori, it seems unlikely that Tottori actually holds anything essential to tracking down the Black Org except as a trap/deception.
4) Vodka is the only member without identifying characteristics, and seems below par in skills needed for a Syndicate member. He seems to have contacts + information avenues that are valuable to the Syndicate.
5) Yamamura seems to have a connection to plot, and seems to be a character, like Akai, meant to deceive the readers. Unlike Akai, this deception is meant to disarm the readers from holding suspicions. Yamamura has been promoted to Inspector despite his lack of skills and intelligence. He is also the only one who seems to want to film Sleeping Kogoro. The appearance of Yamamura seems to signify the coming of plot chapters (only with the flashback of Toichi is this seemly not the case.)
6) Shinichi’s childhood adventure case, with the appearance of Toichi, seems to not have a reason for existing. It only provides Conan with the revelation that he did not know everything about his father - implying the possibility that there is more he does not know. This is the case that takes place in between Yamamura appearances in which no other plot relative case crops up.
EDIT: The flashback chapters in which Shinichi’s first case is revealed did not seem to have significance other than that at first, but then the case that followed after they got to New York revealed Akai’s identity as a FBI agent. Could this flashback to Shinichi’s childhood contain a similar role/significance to the plot?
7) At the series beginning Shinichi is 16 years old (in current chapters he is 17), and he lived alone for 3 years after his parents flew overseas. His parents left him behind when he was 13/14, which is immature and strange. Why did they do this? Why also does Shinichi know how to disarm explosives? Shinichi’s skills don’t all seem to be satisfied in explanation of being a detective. Also Yusaku brought Shinichi many places abroad but not London (A Mecca for Holmes fans), why not?
8) Shiho’s mother is British. Secretive and has a significance implied by the tape she left Shiho. MI6, perhaps?
9) Agasa has a professor friend who he keeps mentioning. This friend has a granddaughter who came down sick before the Night Baron Tour Case - (References to ‘Professor’ as a Holmes fan makes me think of Professor Moriarty.) This unnamed professor may have a deeper significance to plot.
10) Ayumi’s mother has yet to be seen.
NEW (1/26)
11) At the very beginning of the manga, when Kudo regains consciousness after being forced to swallow the poison, there are a lot of police/security guards who show up and find him. He even comments that there is a lot there - why? Why did Gosho draw such a scene with so many when one or two would suffice? Would five security/police searching the same area in tropical land at the same time be realistic? Might it be possible that someone tipped them off about a possible dead body or suspicious person in that area? In this case, unless there was some unknown party spying on things, only three people could’ve done so - Gin, Vodka, or the blackmailed president.
12) In Jodie’s memory of Vermouth killing her father, Vermouth seemed to have deliberately taken off her glove after killing Jodie’s father and making it look like a suicide. After young Jodie appeared and Vermouth gave her the glasses, Vermouth set fire to the house. It appears that she set the fire to get rid of Jodie, but it would’ve been simpler to kill Jodie and make it appear like a double-forced suicide; why did she instead set an unplanned fire to the house which would guarantee Jodie a chance of escape (with the glasses that had her fingerprints). She might have had qualms against killing a child, but that still leaves the question - why did she allow her fingerprints to be left on the glasses? It would have been smarter, if keeping her identity secret had been her goal, to keep her gloves on until she left the house. (If setting a fire to destroy evidence had been her plan from the start, she wouldn’t have needed to make Jodie’s father’s death appear a suicide, as a fire set after death disproves suicide). Could she have left her fingerprints deliberately? In that case, could she have wanted the FBI to conclude eventually that she was both Sharon and Chris, and that she didn’t age? If so, doesn’t this then leave doubt as to this theory?
13) In every case he appeared in so far, Yusaku showed up as himself only during the last chapter of each. I bring this up because of the idea that ‘mulit-chapter’ characters have never died so far (which is used as proof as why Akai is alive still). Does Yusaku still count as a ‘multi-chapter’ character even though every time he shows up as himself it is for one chapter only? (The chapters where he appeared as the Night Baron seems an exception, but he appeared as himself only during the last chapter of that case).
14) Why did Gosho choose to use the Sherlock Holmes quote from the Cooper Beaches about parents and children in the same case/chapter group in which he introduced Okiya and mentioned Bourbon for the first time? It is my belief that the use of this quote and its timing contains more significance than it at first appears. This quote usage (which seldom happened before aside from the ‘eliminate the impossible’ quote that cropped up from time to time) is further emphasized by the major usage of Sherlock Holmes quotes during the London case.
15) Why did Gosho, during the Paper Airplane case/chapters, emphasize Okiya as left handed when he brushed his teeth, but then drew a whole separate panel where Okiya took a memo pad out of his back right pocket? Which the separate panel is like putting a part of a sentence in italics, or separating a phrase from the whole using a dash.
16) Why has Gosho, during the time surrounding the making/release of the fourteenth movie include so many Kaito Kid chapters when he never did so (to such an extent) for any of the other movies featuring Kaito Kid? Also, why hasn’t he included the movie-idea that Kid knows Conan’s true identity when he has used other ideas that originated in the movies already? I.e.)Yamamura’s promotion, Shiratori….Does it just not work plot wise, or is he planning something big to lead up to it?
17) There seems to be a great significance to the color silver in the manga - the most obvious is the references to a ‘Silver Bullet’ as a metaphor of the person who can destroy the Black Org, with the most overlooked one being Ginジン. Gin’s name if written how it is pronounced in Japanese using romaji is actually Jin, but anyone who knows Japanese or who watched Countdown to Heaven will know that ‘Gin’ギン means silver. Further, Gin is given long silver hair in the manga, though only the movies and recent anime episodes has kept it so. (Also, in the panel when Shinichi first choses the name Conan as an alias, one of the books has the (author?) name Jon Vo(ジョンヴォ) written on its spine, which coincidentally(or perhaps not quite so coincidental) resemble Gin’s and Vodka’s code names in katakana ジン・ウオッカ. Maybe a hint to Gin’s real name?
18) Haibara during the London case got in touch with Kudo’s parents and gave them the antidote in case Shinichi used the second too early; yet, if they are already supposed to be in Europe, how could they fly back to Japan to get the antidote then fly back to London in time to not only give it to Shinichi, but to also get involved in helping Shinichi solve the bomber case?
1) Bourbon was referenced early in the series, connected to the names Gin and Vodka, during the Mantendo company case. The idea of a mystery character was played with early on as well with the introduction of the Night Baron. The Night Baron plays a major but overlooked role in the plot as not only is Night Baron the name of the computer virus used by the Black Organization, it is connected by the Japanese pronunciation of Baron with the Japanese pronunciation of Bourbon. Yusaku being the creator of the Night Baron character is similar to him being the one to ‘name’ Kaito Kid (reading 1412 as Kid).
2) Kuro as the first part of a name was used by Vodka when he called Hirota in an attempt to retrieve the floppy disk (Kuro---Insurance Company). Kuro also means black in Japanese and sounds like Crow to English speaking ears. It is likely the Organization’s name or Boss’s name begins with Kuro.
EDIT: On second thought, a cautious boss wouldn’t allow his name or the name of the Org to be used in case the tape could’ve be recovered. Thus the name used on the answering machine is probably a red herring to lead any nosey person astray.
3) 4869 decoded into Kuroyashi which further decodes to Kurayoshi which is in Tottori; however as there is already a Robbery Syndicate being investigated by the police located in Tottori, it seems unlikely that Tottori actually holds anything essential to tracking down the Black Org except as a trap/deception.
4) Vodka is the only member without identifying characteristics, and seems below par in skills needed for a Syndicate member. He seems to have contacts + information avenues that are valuable to the Syndicate.
5) Yamamura seems to have a connection to plot, and seems to be a character, like Akai, meant to deceive the readers. Unlike Akai, this deception is meant to disarm the readers from holding suspicions. Yamamura has been promoted to Inspector despite his lack of skills and intelligence. He is also the only one who seems to want to film Sleeping Kogoro. The appearance of Yamamura seems to signify the coming of plot chapters (only with the flashback of Toichi is this seemly not the case.)
6) Shinichi’s childhood adventure case, with the appearance of Toichi, seems to not have a reason for existing. It only provides Conan with the revelation that he did not know everything about his father - implying the possibility that there is more he does not know. This is the case that takes place in between Yamamura appearances in which no other plot relative case crops up.
EDIT: The flashback chapters in which Shinichi’s first case is revealed did not seem to have significance other than that at first, but then the case that followed after they got to New York revealed Akai’s identity as a FBI agent. Could this flashback to Shinichi’s childhood contain a similar role/significance to the plot?
7) At the series beginning Shinichi is 16 years old (in current chapters he is 17), and he lived alone for 3 years after his parents flew overseas. His parents left him behind when he was 13/14, which is immature and strange. Why did they do this? Why also does Shinichi know how to disarm explosives? Shinichi’s skills don’t all seem to be satisfied in explanation of being a detective. Also Yusaku brought Shinichi many places abroad but not London (A Mecca for Holmes fans), why not?
8) Shiho’s mother is British. Secretive and has a significance implied by the tape she left Shiho. MI6, perhaps?
9) Agasa has a professor friend who he keeps mentioning. This friend has a granddaughter who came down sick before the Night Baron Tour Case - (References to ‘Professor’ as a Holmes fan makes me think of Professor Moriarty.) This unnamed professor may have a deeper significance to plot.
10) Ayumi’s mother has yet to be seen.
NEW (1/26)
11) At the very beginning of the manga, when Kudo regains consciousness after being forced to swallow the poison, there are a lot of police/security guards who show up and find him. He even comments that there is a lot there - why? Why did Gosho draw such a scene with so many when one or two would suffice? Would five security/police searching the same area in tropical land at the same time be realistic? Might it be possible that someone tipped them off about a possible dead body or suspicious person in that area? In this case, unless there was some unknown party spying on things, only three people could’ve done so - Gin, Vodka, or the blackmailed president.
12) In Jodie’s memory of Vermouth killing her father, Vermouth seemed to have deliberately taken off her glove after killing Jodie’s father and making it look like a suicide. After young Jodie appeared and Vermouth gave her the glasses, Vermouth set fire to the house. It appears that she set the fire to get rid of Jodie, but it would’ve been simpler to kill Jodie and make it appear like a double-forced suicide; why did she instead set an unplanned fire to the house which would guarantee Jodie a chance of escape (with the glasses that had her fingerprints). She might have had qualms against killing a child, but that still leaves the question - why did she allow her fingerprints to be left on the glasses? It would have been smarter, if keeping her identity secret had been her goal, to keep her gloves on until she left the house. (If setting a fire to destroy evidence had been her plan from the start, she wouldn’t have needed to make Jodie’s father’s death appear a suicide, as a fire set after death disproves suicide). Could she have left her fingerprints deliberately? In that case, could she have wanted the FBI to conclude eventually that she was both Sharon and Chris, and that she didn’t age? If so, doesn’t this then leave doubt as to this theory?
13) In every case he appeared in so far, Yusaku showed up as himself only during the last chapter of each. I bring this up because of the idea that ‘mulit-chapter’ characters have never died so far (which is used as proof as why Akai is alive still). Does Yusaku still count as a ‘multi-chapter’ character even though every time he shows up as himself it is for one chapter only? (The chapters where he appeared as the Night Baron seems an exception, but he appeared as himself only during the last chapter of that case).
14) Why did Gosho choose to use the Sherlock Holmes quote from the Cooper Beaches about parents and children in the same case/chapter group in which he introduced Okiya and mentioned Bourbon for the first time? It is my belief that the use of this quote and its timing contains more significance than it at first appears. This quote usage (which seldom happened before aside from the ‘eliminate the impossible’ quote that cropped up from time to time) is further emphasized by the major usage of Sherlock Holmes quotes during the London case.
15) Why did Gosho, during the Paper Airplane case/chapters, emphasize Okiya as left handed when he brushed his teeth, but then drew a whole separate panel where Okiya took a memo pad out of his back right pocket? Which the separate panel is like putting a part of a sentence in italics, or separating a phrase from the whole using a dash.
16) Why has Gosho, during the time surrounding the making/release of the fourteenth movie include so many Kaito Kid chapters when he never did so (to such an extent) for any of the other movies featuring Kaito Kid? Also, why hasn’t he included the movie-idea that Kid knows Conan’s true identity when he has used other ideas that originated in the movies already? I.e.)Yamamura’s promotion, Shiratori….Does it just not work plot wise, or is he planning something big to lead up to it?
17) There seems to be a great significance to the color silver in the manga - the most obvious is the references to a ‘Silver Bullet’ as a metaphor of the person who can destroy the Black Org, with the most overlooked one being Ginジン. Gin’s name if written how it is pronounced in Japanese using romaji is actually Jin, but anyone who knows Japanese or who watched Countdown to Heaven will know that ‘Gin’ギン means silver. Further, Gin is given long silver hair in the manga, though only the movies and recent anime episodes has kept it so. (Also, in the panel when Shinichi first choses the name Conan as an alias, one of the books has the (author?) name Jon Vo(ジョンヴォ) written on its spine, which coincidentally(or perhaps not quite so coincidental) resemble Gin’s and Vodka’s code names in katakana ジン・ウオッカ. Maybe a hint to Gin’s real name?
18) Haibara during the London case got in touch with Kudo’s parents and gave them the antidote in case Shinichi used the second too early; yet, if they are already supposed to be in Europe, how could they fly back to Japan to get the antidote then fly back to London in time to not only give it to Shinichi, but to also get involved in helping Shinichi solve the bomber case?
